Australia

Australian spiny mountain crayfish (Euastacus, Parastacidae) and their ecotosymbiotic temnocephalan flatworms (Temnocephalida, Platyhelminthes) may have co-occurred and interacted through deep time, during a period of major environmental change. Therefore, reconstructing the history of their association is of evolutionary, ecological, and conservation significance. Here, time-calibrated Bayesian phylogenies of Euastacus species and their temnocephalans (Temnohaswellia and Temnosewellia) indicate near-synchronous diversifications from the Cretaceous. Statistically significant cophylogeny correlations between associated clades suggest linked evolutionary histories. However, there is a stronger signal of codivergence and greater host specificity in Temnosewellia, which co-occurs with Euastacus across its range. Phylogeography and analyses of evolutionary distinctiveness (ED) suggest that regional differences in the impact of climate warming and drying had major effects both on crayfish...

The opportunities to grow the ‘organic pie’ are substantial for both China and Australia. However the challenges and the opportunities are far from identical, although the goals of growing the production area, increasing the market awareness, fostering consumer confidence in certification and labeling, broadening the product offering and availability, and increasing sales are shared issues. Some of the aspects of organics opportunity and challenge are examined in this book chapter. Comparative statistics between Australia and China are presented in Table 3.1.

The primary aim of the proposed study is to examine the efficacy of an 8-month supervised, high-intensity progressive resistance training and impact loading programme in comparison with a supervised machine-based isometric exercise training programme using the bioDensity system in older men with low bone mass. We will also determine the safety and acceptability of each exercise training mode. Intervention group responses will be compared with those of a self-selected, non-randomised control sample of sex-matched and age-matched men who will follow their usual lifestyle activities for 8 months. Apparently healthy men over 50 years with low bone mass, screened for medical conditions and medications known to adversely affect bone health, will be recruited. Eligible participants will be randomly allocated to 8 months of either exercise programme with block randomisation based on presence or absence of osteoporosis medications. A twice-weekly, 30-minute, supervised exercise programme wil...

To determine the elements of quality clinical and field placements through the eyes of paramedic instructors. Qualitative study. Two large paramedic services in two countries where the entry to practice qualification for paramedics has been set at the Bachelors degree level. Fifteen purposively selected paramedic instructors were invited to voluntarily participate. The criterion for inclusion was that they had supervised at least one university paramedicine student on a field placement. Recruitment ceased when saturation was reached. Face to face semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants who were asked their views and expectations of paramedicine student clinical and field placements. Inductive thematic analysis of the transcripts was completed using Nvivo software. The elements of quality clinical and field placements from the perspective of paramedic instructors were identified. With no agreed clinical and field placement paramedicine standards in the countries s...

The Gold Coast is Australia’s most rapidly changing city – regularly compared to Miami and Las Vegas for its embrace of bad taste and the good life; and with Dubai for its sudden moments of high-rise assuredness and seeming lack of restraint in either the ambitions of building or their manifestations.
Beautifully illustrated throughout, this book offers the first comprehensive history of the city and its architecture, documenting its rise from a series of seaside villages in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to the present-day city, set to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Considering city plans, architectural works, landscape formations and modes of inhabitation over the time in which the Gold Coast has been peopled, it considers the role of architecture in carrying the city forward. Its main focus is on the contemporary city and the conditions that have given rise to its character - high rise, bad taste and skewed towards the beach edge.

Human activities over the past 200 years have fundamentally transformed the shape of Australia’s southern Murray Darling Basin (SMDB). The arrival of British colonists in the 19th century disrupted millennia of human management of the region and brought widespread changes to biota and soils. The subsequent development of mining, transport and irrigation infrastructure re-engineered the region’s landscapes to meet human objectives and ambitions. This paper offers an integrated regional history of anthropogenic change across the SMDB, identifying historical processes driving complex ongoing interactions between human activities and the natural environment. We examine three broad domains of engineering and geo-disturbance in the region, including the development of transport corridors, micro and macro-scale water management, and landforms remade by erosion and sedimentation. We use the archaeology of the recent past to integrate insights drawn from physical geography, fluvial geomorphology and related research into the enduring landscape changes of modern Australia’s food bowl.

The town of Augusta, 300km south of Perth in Western Australia, was settled in May 1830 and represents the first regional settlement of the British Swan River Colony outside of the Swan River area that was settled in 1829. One of many New World settlements established in Australia – and the rest of the New World – during the latter stage of the Industrial Revolution (c.1760-1840), it has not been studied despite its archaeological potential and significance. Augusta’s physical environment, isolation and milder climate comparative to the main settlements established at the Swan River makes it an excellent case study to observe adaptation in frontier environments during this period in Australian and the broader New World context.

The formation of the Swan River Colony resulted in the first ‘free’ – not associated with penal systems of emigration – British settlement in Australia and the archaeology of these initial towns is useful for studying behaviour in frontier environments. Despite Australia’s importance to the archaeological study of free settlement during this period, the comparative emphasis on penal history has created a bias – and general public perception – that Australia’s history is synonymous with a penal colony. While penal systems undoubtedly contributed to rapid development by a good supply of labour and resources, the bias is at the detriment of studying human behaviour in frontier environments. Western Australia was formally a penal colony from 1849 but despite two decades of free settlement the current archaeological literature about its past is tethered to the period post-1849.

The study of adaptation has been a focus of archaeology for many decades that has included how humans learn in frontier environments. A more recent emphasis has been placed on attempting to understand the specific cognitive and environmental variables involved in learning in a foreign environment. Rockman’s (2003) Landscape Learning Model provides a framework to understand how humans learn in a foreign environment using the variables of locational knowledge that involve locating resources; limitational knowledge linked to the limits of the environment and its resources; and social knowledge that is about how existing culture translates into the new environment. The Landscape Learning Model provides a framework that aims to understand the process and archaeological patterns of learning in a foreign environment.

This project asks the questions ‘what knowledge did British settlers bring and how effective was it at Augusta?’ and, ‘what is the archaeological evidence of learning at Augusta’. The questions were addressed using the results of a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) desktop study, two excavations in the main town site – those relating to the Turner and Molloy families– and four pedestrian surveys outside the main town site. The data from these surveys was subjected to functional analysis and used Rockman’s (2003) Landscape Learning Model as a framework to draw out inferences aiming to address learning at Augusta between 1830 and 1849 when most of the 1830 settlers left the area.

The results of this study present a slightly different narrative to that presented in the secondary histories written since the 1950s. The comparative emphasis in these histories on the later Vasse and Busselton settlements provides a basis for inferring that the function of Augusta was as a steppingstone following its abandonment by most of the initial British settlers. Additionally, interpretation to-date using only surviving primary historical documents and the human tendency to explain abandonment using failure – a ‘disaster mindset’ (C. Cameron & Tomka, 1993) - has resulted in the reasons surrounding British settlers departing Augusta being limited to that settlers were unable to overcome the blight of isolation and the physical environment. This is not the case. The British were highly resilient and the archaeology of this project demonstrates that this resilience enabled settlers to effectively learn about the new – foreign – environment. Furthermore, this research suggests that it is not useful to consider Augusta as ‘abandoned’ in 1849 given that continuous settlement occurred post-1849 and the exodus of British settlers can be attributed to social knowledge. The results of the study also highlight the archaeological potential and significance of Augusta and need for future study.

As historians are becoming more aware of the diversity of the Australian prisoner of war experience during the Second World War, increasing numbers of Indigenous Australians' stories are being identified. Through the combined hard work of researchers, families, and communities, a more complete picture of Aboriginal prisoner-of-war experiences is emerging.

Personalisation of care services has the potential of empowering users through maximising their choice of services and improving their control on how such services are provided and by whom; there is some debate, however, of the suitability of such approach to some groups of users and potentially increased risks. Advocacy groups have long played a crucial role in promoting the rights of users whilst ensuring their safeguard. The current seminar presents examples of advocacy work from the UK and Europe that are specific to social services and care provision. It will discuss the role of advocacy that is present at various stages of care delivery from facilitating the input of users in the process of workforce training and qualifications to their involvement in service delivery. The presentation also highlights the role of the wider context of national social policy strategies in establishing the role of advocacy. The discussion will stress the importance of the coordination between training, commissioning and service provision in ensuring access and choice while recognising the need for safeguarding. These are likely to be achieved through the application of a complementary framework of work that involves service users, the workforce, informal carers and independent advocates within current consumer driven systems.

The New Global Politics of the Asia Pacific: Conflict and Cooperation in the Asian Century, 3rd Edition
©2017 Routledge: London & New York. 341pp. + x. Link: https://www.routledge.com/The-New-Global-Politics-of-the-Asia-Pacific-Conflict-and-Cooperation-in/Connors-Davison-Dosch/p/book/9781138647022

Now in its new and fully updated third edition, The New Global Politics of the Asia Pacific continues to provide a compelling analysis of a region undergoing dramatic changes. Based on new research and offering fresh interpretation, this edition evaluates the prospects for continuing US dominance in the ‘Asian Century’. Whilst presenting evidence for a multifaceted ‘Beijing Strategy’, which aims to counter the US by building an alternative regional order, it also explains Japan’s definitive departure from its limited military role. Key content includes:
- Intra-regional conflicts in the South China Sea and the Korean peninsula,
- The different responses within the Asia Pacific to globalisation and western ideas of democracy and political economy,
- The underappreciated success of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in building a regional identity
- The European Union’s soft power in the region.
A highly topical account, which offers an overview of the main actors, institutions and contemporary issues in the Asia Pacific, the book will be essential reading for students of Asian Studies, International Politics, and anyone interested in the region.

Michael K. Connors teaches at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus and is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University. He is the co-editor of Thai Politics in Translation: Monarchy, Democracy, Constitution (forthcoming).
Remy Davison holds the Jean Monnet Chair in Politics and Economics at Monash University. He is the author of The Political Economy of Single Market Europe (2011).
Jörn Dosch is Professor of International Politics and Development Cooperation at the University of Rostock, Germany, and Adjunct Professor at Monash University Malaysia. His recent publications include Malaysia Post-Mahathir: A Decade of Change (2015).

Churingas
A churinga (of Central Australia) is a very sacred object which represents the ancestral and the
individual spirit of its owner. Each tribe is divided into totems related to animals, plants or objects,
and the legends and relationship of each totemic group are recorded on the churingas. The churinga
is an oval or elongated slab or stone or wood which can be either rounded or pointed at both ends.
The size of the smallest churinga is only one inch, but large stone ones may be about three feet
long, while those from Western Australia are chiefly made from wood and vary considerably in size,
some of them reaching a length of seventeen feet. The large ones are known as, dancing-boards.
Some Central Australian wooden churingas have a small hole drilled through one end, and if a
string is fastened through it they can be whirled round. They produce a loud humming sound which
the women believe to be the voice of a dangerous spirit. These churingas are called bullroarers.
Many churingas are manufactured with great care and patience, and beautiful highly
conventionalized designs are engraved on them by means of possum teeth. The churingas are
sacred, and they can be seen only by initiated men during the time of ceremony. At other times they
are carefully wrapped in bark or skins and hidden in sacred places. Women and children are not
allowed to see them, and the breaking of this rule is punishable by death or blinding. The churingas
are known to exist in many parts of Australia, but the finest decorated stone ones come from Central
Australia. Conventionalized designs on these record legends, and the various symbols will help the
man who knows the legend to recite it correctly. This is well shown in the British Museum on a
churinga of the grasshopper totem of the Ngalia tribe from Central Australia

The Indo-Pacific region stretches from the eastern Indian Ocean shores of Africa and West Asia to the littoral countries of the western Pacific. The region constitutes the ‘maritime underbelly’ of Asia, and is the fastest growing region in the world; and in a few decades, is likely to witness what may be referred to as ‘Renaissance 2.0’. The region is, therefore, ripe with enormous opportunities, not only for regional countries, but also for the rest of the global community. And yet, the region is beset with equally colossal security risks that emanate from inter alia the rise of China - that is not satisfied with ‘status quo’ in the global order including established international law and norms; strategic rivalries and the attendant security dilemma and arms race; issues of governance including maritime jurisdictions; the proliferation of malevolent non-state actors involved in maritime crimes and terrorism; and so on. The book is a collation of commentaries that analyse the trends with regard to the geopolitical and maritime security environment, along with the naval developments, in the Indo-Pacific in the past half-decade or so.

Aboriginal incarceration rates are much higher than the general Australian population. Moreover, indigenous women represent 34% of the total number of inmates. As if this wasn't enough, the legal and welfare systems are removing indigenous children from their families and culture, serving as a mechanism of forced assimilation.

By Suzi Hutchings for Debates Indígenas.

Aborjinler ismi size tanıdık geliyor mu? Çoğunuz kanguruları ve çölleriyle meşhur Avustralya kıtasını ve ülkesini duymuşsunuzdur.  Bu ülkeye geçmişte çok sayıda İngiliz gemilerle getirildi ve bu insanlar buranın yerlileri oldular. Fakat ülkeye ayak bastıklarında, siyah tenli Aborjin yerlileriyle karşılaştılar. Onlar, 40.000 ile 80.000  yılları arasında zaten Okyanusya'da ortaya çıkmışlardı.  Dolayısıyla, Aborjinler bir zamanlar ev sahibi iken, kendi topraklarında misafir konumuna düştüler.

Family members could play an important role in preventing and reducing the development of delirium in Intensive Care Units (ICU) patients. This study sought to assess the feasibility of design and recruitment, and acceptability for family members and nurses of a family delivered intervention to reduce delirium in ICU patients. A single centre randomised controlled trial in an Australian medical/surgical ICU was conducted. Sixty-one family members were randomised (29 in intervention and 32 in non-intervention group). Following instructions, the intervention comprised the family members providing orientation or memory clues (family photographs, orientation to surroundings) to their relative each day. In addition, family members conducted sensory checks (vision and hearing with glasses and hearing aids); and therapeutic or cognitive stimulation (discussing family life, reminiscing) daily. Eleven ICU nurses were interviewed to gain insight into the feasibility and acceptability of imple...

In Wicks v State Rail Authority (NSW) (2010) 84 ALJR 497 the High Court of Australia held that, among other things, plaintiffs (who establish that they suffer a recognised psychiatric illness as a result of the breach of duty of care owed to them by the defendant under s 32 of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW)) are entitled to recover damages for pure mental harm under s 30 if their psychiatric injury arose "wholly or partly from" a "series of shocking experiences" in the form of "a sudden and disturbing impression on the mind and feelings" in connection with witnessing at the scene "another person ('the victim') being killed, injured or put in peril by the act or omission of the defendant". The High Court construed the phrase "being ... injured or put in peril" to include plaintiffs who suffer pure mental harm by witnessing at the scene another person being injured through the process of suffering pure mental harm in the fo...

Pay-for-performance (P4P) programs which reward clinical providers with incentive payments based on one or more measures of quality of care are now common in the United States and the United Kingdom and it is likely they will attract increasing interest in Australia. However, empirical evidence demonstrating effectiveness of such programs is limited and many existing programs have not had rigorous outcome evaluation. To maximise success, future P4P programs should incorporate the lessons and insights obtained from previous experience. Based on a review of published trials, program evaluations and position statements, the following principles that may guide future program design and implementation were synthesised: 1) formulate a rationale and a business case for P4P; 2) use established evidencebased performance measures; 3) use rigorous and verifiable methods of data collection and analysis; 4) define performance targets using absolute and relative thresholds; 5) use rewards that ar...

There is increasing importance placed on conducting clinical trials in dentistry to provide a robust evidence base for the treatment provided, and models of care delivered. However, providing the evidence upon which to base such decisions is not straightforward, as the conduct of these trials is complex. Currently, only limited information is available about the strategies to deliver successful clinical trials in primary care settings, and even less available on dental clinical trials. Considerable knowledge and experience is lost once a trial is completed as details about effective management of a trial are generally not reported or disseminated to trial managers and researchers. This leads to loss of vital knowledge that could assist with the effective delivery of new trials. The aim of this study is to examine the conduct and delivery of five dental clinical trials across both Australia and the UK and identify the various factors that impacted upon their implementation. Findings ...

Recent reports have suggested that the problem of childhood and adolescent obesity has been exaggerated in Australia, and that community-wide obesity prevention initiatives are not warranted; we argue that this is not an accurate reflection of the situation. Available data indicate that obesity affects 6%-8% of Australian schoolchildren, and that the proportion has continued to increase in recent years. Childhood and adolescent obesity is associated with a wide range of immediate health concerns, as well as increasing the risk of disease in adulthood. Some weight-related health problems are also found in overweight children. A range of strategies, including whole-of-community obesity prevention programs, will be required to tackle this problem. Concerns about disordered eating in children and adolescents should not preclude appropriate action on childhood obesity.

This paper estimates the impact of economic insecurity on the mental health of Australian adults. Taking microdata from the 2001-2011 HILDA panel survey, we develop a conceptually diverse set of insecurity measures and explore their relationships with the SF-36 mental health index. By using fixed effects models that control for unobservable heterogeneity we produce estimates that correct for endogeneity more thoroughly than previous works. Our results show that exposure to economic risks has small but consistently detrimental mental health effects. The main contribution of the paper however comes from the breadth of risks that are found to be harmful. Job insecurity, financial dissatisfaction, reductions and volatility in income, an inability to meet standard expenditures and a lack of access to emergency funds all adversely affect health. This suggests that the common element of economic insecurity (rather than idiosyncratic phenomena associated with any specific risk) is likely to...

Access to justice helps states to create a peaceful environment for their citizens to live, work and develop. In order to maintain access to justice, the primary tool for governments is courts and processes of litigation. Notwithstanding, when time changed, the traditional litigation process showed it is not an absolute answers to all demand of citizens. This paper will focus on examining the flaws of the adversarial litigation in order to clarify how they limit the access to justice in Australia; simultaneously, to prove the success of mandatory alternative dispute resolution in supporting the citizens to achieve and maintain the right of access to justice

A bill to decriminalize abortion in New South Wales passed their lower house last week. Our Bodies Our Choices is the community campaign to decriminalize abortion in New South Wales. Yesterday they sat down with me for a Twitter Q&A, where we discussed their work, the current laws which regulate abortion in New South Wales, the recent bill, and what’ll happen next.

AbstractNational research about drug information needs and access strategies from a cross-section of professionals and community respondents was undertaken in conjunction with the development of the Australian Drug Information Network (ADIN).* Many professionals who have an active concern about drug and alcohol issues experience frustration with their access to high quality and relevant drug information. Although the Internet is widely perceived to be the answer to disseminating information, it remains the least favoured source of drug information among professionals, especially in regional and remote locations. Limited access to technology and doubts about the quality of web-based information were expressed concerns. Community differences about where and how to access information were also apparent, with the Internet being a more feasible resource for metropolitan and younger respondents.

Chronic condition management in general practice is projected to account for 50% of all consultations by 2051. General practices under present workforce conditions will be unable to meet this demand. Nurse led collaborative care models of chronic disease management have been successful overseas and are proposed as one solution. This article provides an interim report on a prospective randomised trial to investigate the acceptability, cost effectiveness and feasibility of a nurse led model of care for chronic conditions in Australian general practice. A qualitative study focused on the impact of this model of care through the perceptions of practice staff from one urban and one regional practice in Queensland, and one Victorian rural practice. Primary benefits of the collaborative care model focused on increased efficiency and communication between practice staff and patients. The increased degree of patient self responsibility was noted by all and highlights the motivational aspect ...